It's a privilege to be able to read and even more to be able to join
in a discussion like this!

I primarily work in paper sculpture. I make moku hanga prints when I
can squeeze in time between paper, the garden, and the day job. I find
that the medium I work in is a big influence on my designs. I've
worked with paper long enough to know what I can ask of it, and I draw
and edit my designs accordingly. I don't see the last-minute,
in-the-middle-of-the-job changes and choices as more creative and
spontaneous than the choices I make as I sketch and design and plan -
they're all my own choices and ideas.

It seems to me that people are drawing a distinction that seems to say
there's more creativity in working directly in the final medium (for
example, carving on the block with no drawing, or with only a rough
sketch) than there is when more planning and preparation is involved
(example: sketching it first, refining the sketch, transferring it,
then carving). I'm puzzled by this. Isn't it all the artist's work?
- the original sketch, all the choices and changes that come about as
the design is reworked and transferred and carved? Is refining and
planning a picture on paper less creative than making the same sort of
choices and changes directly on the woodblock?

I think people have been saying there's less chance for the on-the-job
choices and changes when using a power tool to carve with. But
whether the artist uses power or chisels, it all comes down to their
own choices and ideas. As far as power tools go, I think of a saying
from an old book "If you can't tell, it doesn't make any difference."
Chisels are lovely works of art themselves, they're quiet, they
require care and skill. But the point is to make prints. Things that
are easy to do are less valued. But if the design and printing are
poor, does it make the print more valuable just because it was
difficult to carve? If the design and printing are beautiful, does it
matter whether the carving was easy or hard?

I have been working on the list of woods used by Baren folk. Larry,
Barbara is right, to get fine detail to work well you need a harder
wood. Maple, cherry, black walnut and my favorite (probably because it
grows on the Oregon coast) myrtle wood all work better than shina for
fine details. Basswood and or shina is wonderful for the soft ease of
carving but not good for details.

I will send out the list of woods soon, just been a bit slow. I have
some good and interesting responses that people shared with me. If you
google hardwood there is a chart online somewhere that gives the
hardness of each type of wood. I am currently working on piece of
black walnut for my dragon print, it is a bit harder than maple, but
still it is not too hard to carve.

Ellen I so appreciated your comments on how you create your work.
There are times I feel guilty that I don't use multiple blocks with
multi colors much for exchanges. I have resolved not to feel guilty
but instead to do what comes naturally to me.

I am Sue Kallaugher of Baltimore, originally from London/Brighton, UK.
Professionally I am a kitchen designer but would really love to be a woodcut artist/printer!
I am new to this art form, I have only been doing this for a year. I have read Dave Bull's ebook and taken one studio workshop with Matt Brown and have made a few prints on my own, learning by mistakes & successes. I want to learn all I can, as quickly as I can, because I am no Spring Chicken! I am interested in creating the original art and the prints. I have done landscapes and a still life and am working on an abstract.
My thanks to Annie Bissett for guiding me to Baren Forum. I look forward to reading everyone's contributions and to participating. I also welcome anyone's advice for workshops that are being held.
Sue Kallaugher

When I was vascillating between the I-Pad and a Kindle, it was David
Hockney who sent me to the I-Pad. I love the idea of doing sketches
on it and have not done nearly enough. His I-Pad paintings are
amazing. It is great fun, no need to be where the materials are, and
as he says, clean-up is a snap. I also love reading on it in bed and
I never lose my place because it saves it for me. It is just another
tool in my accumulation.

As for sketching - we should all do more of it - it broadens the mind
and hones the drawing skills. I am a pre-planner all the way when it
comes to etchings, woodblocks, etc. If I see something that I wish I
had done with an image, then that is seed for the next one. I am much
too cheap to ruin a perfectly good piece of Cherry or Maple wood
because I refused to plan ahead. But, that is just part of being
raised by depression era parents, I think. ;-)

Tossing in my 2 here. It all started with the question about the use of a laser router. First let me say I love tools and I'm a bit of a geek. I think all tools are fair game to achieve a goal.

So I guess I'd reset the question to "what is the goal?".

With moku hanga the goal may not necessarily be the finished print. In this case the goal may be the process instead of the product. The print could be a wonderful by-product. If that is the case then the cutting, inking and pulling of the print is all about the printmaker being a part of the process.

I've been told that the goal of alchemy might not be so much to transform lead to gold from repeating the same steps as it is to transform the alchemist.

Would the tea ceremony be the same if a tea bag were plopped in the cup of instant hot water? Is a quilt made from new fabric in China the same as the one my grandmother made from my grandfather's old shirts? They each would keep me warm.

I don't want to get too woo woo here but some tools might be more appropriate for one print than another.

For everyone's info this is a list of woods that can be used for
carving. Several people gave me info and I added a bit more. Have fun
and enjoy the choices.

Marilynn

Possible choices for carving woods

Alder

Red alder has an even texture and a straight grain. It is relatively
soft (similar to butternut) and easy to carve. Red Alder gets hard as
it dries. It is a wood that allows deep cuts without resistance. Some
species of Alder tend to chip easily. Alder was widely used by Polish
folk wood cutters.

Baltic Birch Plywood

Can give good results. It is stronger and denser than most plywood and
carves better with less chipping than fir, oak or aspen plywood.

Basswood
Basswood is an extremely soft wood, that is very easy to work with
hand tools. it is not good for fine detail work.

Black Walnut

A little harder than maple. It carves well and holds detail well.

Butternut (juglans cinerea), a species of the Walnut (juglans) genus

Can be called a soft walnut, as it is softer to work than black
walnut. It also
grows readily in northern Ontario, which is just a mite cold for the
classic black walnut (juglans nigra) to survive .

Cedar

Cedar is a soft, red, scented wood that is easily carved. It is
brittle and splinters easily.

Cherry and Cherry plywood

An excellent carving wood. A hardwood and holds detail very well. It
is one of the worlds best carving woods.

Cross Cut douglas Fir
A Japanese wood worker, said that end cut (cross cut) Douglas Fir is
very much like end cut (cross cut ?) Cherry.

Fir Plywood

Excellent for showing grain and carves better that you would expect.

Mahogany

Found on ships model blocks they are easy to carve, they hold detail
and show grain. Can splinter if you find a dry patch.

Maple

Not too hard for carving, holds detail well and does not splinter
easily.

Myrtle Wood

It carves well, does not easily splinter and holds good detail. It is
found on the southern Oregon and northern California coast.

Pear

An is excellent wood. It is good for delicate fine detail work.

Pine

It was widely used by Polish folk woodcutters. Pine is easy to carve,
tends to splinter.

Poplar

Often called "white wood" in catalogs, it is soft and easy to carve,
holds detail pretty well. You get a different look to your print with
poplar than with cherry. It's more energetic looking.

Shina Plywood

It is soft enough to carve very easily. Shina belongs to the Linden
family and feels grainless when carving it. Not good for fine details.

Side grain Yellow Cedar

It may be available to those on northwest coast. It carves like
butter, does not splinter.

South American Boxwood; also known as Degame, Yellowwood

Engraves beautifully and has a wonderful yellow color.

Teak
It is of medium density and is easy to carve. Its hardness varies.
Like mahogany it is found on ships model blocks.

Polish folk woodcutter's first choice was basswood, because it was easiest
to carve than they used poplar, I'm not sure about alder tree. But that's
just my knowledge based upon a books. I'm going to investigate this issue
soon. I will let you know then.

2012/1/2 Marilynn Smith

> For everyone's info this is a list of woods that can be used for carving.
> Several people gave me info and I added a bit more. Have fun and enjoy the
> choices.
>
> Marilynn
>
>
>
>
> Possible choices for carving woods
>
> Alder
>
> Red alder has an even texture and a straight grain. It is relatively soft
> (similar to butternut) and easy to carve. Red Alder gets hard as it dries.
> It is a wood that allows deep cuts without resistance. Some species of
> Alder tend to chip easily. Alder was widely used by Polish folk wood
> cutters.
>
> Baltic Birch Plywood
>
> Can give good results. It is stronger and denser than most plywood and
> carves better with less chipping than fir, oak or aspen plywood.
>
> Basswood
> Basswood is an extremely soft wood, that is very easy to work with hand
> tools. it is not good for fine detail work.
>
> Black Walnut
>
> A little harder than maple. It carves well and holds detail well.
>
> Butternut (juglans cinerea), a species of the Walnut (juglans) genus
>
> Can be called a soft walnut, as it is softer to work than black walnut. It
> also
> grows readily in northern Ontario, which is just a mite cold for the
> classic black walnut (juglans nigra) to survive .
>
> Cedar
>
> Cedar is a soft, red, scented wood that is easily carved. It is brittle
> and splinters easily.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Cherry and Cherry plywood
>
> An excellent carving wood. A hardwood and holds detail very well. It is
> one of the worlds best carving woods.
>
> Cross Cut douglas Fir
> A Japanese wood worker, said that end cut (cross cut) Douglas Fir is very
> much like end cut (cross cut ?) Cherry.
>
> Fir Plywood
>
> Excellent for showing grain and carves better that you would expect.
>
> Mahogany
>
> Found on ships model blocks they are easy to carve, they hold detail and
> show grain. Can splinter if you find a dry patch.
>
> Maple
>
> Not too hard for carving, holds detail well and does not splinter easily.
>
> Myrtle Wood
>
> It carves well, does not easily splinter and holds good detail. It is
> found on the southern Oregon and northern California coast.
>
> Pear
>
> An is excellent wood. It is good for delicate fine detail work.
>
>
>
>
>
> Pine
>
> It was widely used by Polish folk woodcutters. Pine is easy to carve,
> tends to splinter.
>
> Poplar
>
> Often called "white wood" in catalogs, it is soft and easy to carve, holds
> detail pretty well. You get a different look to your print with poplar than
> with cherry. It's more energetic looking.
>
> Shina Plywood
>
> It is soft enough to carve very easily. Shina belongs to the Linden
> family and feels grainless when carving it. Not good for fine details.
>
>
> Side grain Yellow Cedar
>
> It may be available to those on northwest coast. It carves like butter,
> does not splinter.
>
> South American Boxwood; also known as Degame, Yellowwood
>
> Engraves beautifully and has a wonderful yellow color.
>
> Teak
> It is of medium density and is easy to carve. Its hardness varies. Like
> mahogany it is found on ships model blocks.
>
>
>
>
>

Great discussion on laser tools. I've experimented with just about any and
every way a person can to make art and I have a wonderful time doing so.
One of the things I like most about woodcut is the "physicality" of it. In
other words I love to look at a work of art be able to see how it was made.
There is soooooo much that one can do with cut marks to ad depth of
dimension and soul to a work that give it more interest than works that
haven't made use of the cut marks, at least to me that is...

Like I said, I work in many ways I will draw directly onto the block (this
is usually my means with abstract suicide prints) or transfer an image from
my sketchbook or transfer an image I created in the computer. A favorite
way of working lately is to create digital collages using my photos, web
photos and clip art. http://phare-camp.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
Then I will either hand draw the image to the block or print out the image
and transfer to the block using seral transfer paper. I'm not worried about
losing honesty in my work by directly transferring the image; though I don't
go so far as to glue the paper to the block simply because I don't like
cutting through paper. I don't worry about it because once I start cutting
the block my hand carves a different beast from what I started with. I love
the carving and because I love the carving that love becomes a part of the
image...and of course as I'm carving my mind starts finding ways to
incorporate cut marks into elements of expression that aren't part of the
original sketch/printout. And because of my love for the carving I will
continue to cut my own plates for as long as I am physically able...and if
comes a day I can no longer carve I'll start using the dremel and if day
comes that I can't even use the dremel I'll use laser... or go back to mere
painting... whatever it takes to make I will always make until the day I'm
dirt...

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